Improvement in knitting-machine needles



L. WQFIPIELD. KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE.

NO. 51,577. Patented Dec 19,1865.

.n a? (a: 5 F: C L) w I E CIE IZZ ilia I 51; m {a J New Hampton, in theconntyot Belknap and chinery; and I do hereby declare the same toprovided with my invention.

end, but having no loop-notch.

. the reception of mechanism for producing or UNITED STAT S PATENTOFFICE.

LEVI W. FIFIELD, ,OF NEW HAMP TON,-NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 51,577, dated December19, 1865.

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that I, LEVI W.F1FIELD, of

State of New Hampshire, have made a new and useful invention havingreference to the Needles of Knitting or Hosiery Looms or Mabe. fullydescribed in the following specification and represented in theaccompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a top view of a hookedneedle Fig. 2 is' a side elevation, and Fig. 3 a longitudinal section,of it. 'Fig. 4 is a side viewof aneedle-slide provided with a back notchand cammed front Fig. 5 will be hereinafter explained. i In carrying outmy invention"! the hooked needle with a groove, o,'arrangedlongitudinally'in its shank A and in-rear of its book a, such groovebeing in the plane of the hook and for reception of-a .closer orslide,'B. The front end of such closer or slide B, I form at an acuteangle with the lower edge of the slide, or, in other words, cammed, asshown at c and Ialso construct in the said front end a recess, d, forthe reception of and for protectin g the point of the hook from beingcaught in aloop while the latter may be in the act of being drawn alongthe needle. F ur-. thermore, in the upper part of the closer or slideB,-and at a short distance in rear of the front end of such slide,I makewhat I term-a loop-notch, e, such notch bei-ngformed. as represented inFig. 3. The slide may also be constructed either with or without a backnotch, as seen at f, such back notch being for insuring the longitudinalmovements of the slide or closer. The said slide or closer is alsoconstructed with one or more slots, 9, extending through it, to receivepins 72/ h, which go through them and the shank of the needle, and serveto retain the slide in its proper con-, nection with the said shank.These slots and pins also answer the purpose of determining the extentof longitudinal 'movements of the slide relativelyto the hook of theneedle. The forward movement of the slide should be such as not only toallow the hook to enter the recess d, but to. prevent the slide fromcontactwithvthe point of the hook, whereby. injury. thereto mightresult.

The shank A is constructed with a notch, l, to enable the loop to enteror remain in the notch e of the' slide while the needle-is in the act ofbeing moved longitudinally. The shank A may be provided with the usualprojection,

- ing cam. a

The closing-slide or needle-closer B, constructed with the cam c and theloop-notch e, and combined with the shank" of the hooked needle inmanner substantially as described, will be .operated to excellentadvantage by the loops during the advance and retreat of the needle.While the needle is in the actot' being retracted the knitted loop is inthe notch e,

and will hold the slide stationary or prevent it from being moved withthe needle until the pointy thereof is brought up into the recess 41 ofI the slide. The further retraction of the needle Vance of' the needlethe new loop formed by such yarn will force or keepthe slide back andraise the incline c and pass into the notch c, ready for effecting theclosing of the slide during the next retreat of the needle.

From the above it will be seen liow the needle-closer B is operatedbythe needle and the loop's,and that in reality it requires no additionalmechanism to effect the movements of such slide relatively to the hook.But'in order that there may be no uncertainty as to the movements of theslider, it maybe constructed with the back notch f, orits equivalent,the same'being for the purpose hereinbefore explained.

The sliding closer B, made and applied to the hooked needle in manner asdescribed, has

many advantages over the ordinary revolving latch closer. 1n the firstplace it is not so liable to become broken or injured. his cheaper ofconstruction, and operates with greater certainty. It is very difficultto make the latches of the right shape and temper, and as they are ofnecessity very small, they are consequently weak and easily bent 'orbroken,-

thereby often causing much trouble to the knitter.

The closing-slide, when made and applied to the needle as described, hasno part so exposed as to be easily disengaged 'or broken; The

for entering the groove of the slide-operat-.-

V saving to the knitter, and, besides, produce better work, the fabricbeing even and free from holes,-on account of there being so littleliability of dropping the stitches, and, besides,

the amount of work per day produced will be much more than can beeffected by the needles when provided with the latches or rotaryclosers.

The body of the needle may be made from sheet-steel, in which case itwill be much more durable than that of the ordinary needle made fromwire and provided with a turning-latch. such a needle, in side view,being represented in Fig. 5, in which a denotes the shank, 1) the hook,and c the turning-latch, of the needle.

I do not claim a hooked needle having its shank grooved for thereception. of a closingslide nor do I claim such a slide as made with aninclination or cam at its front end, and also with a slot to receive apin, such slot and pin being arranged so as to simply hold the slide .inconnection with the shank, without being able to act as a means ofarresting the slide so that it may not come in contact with the hook ofthe needle.

I claim- 1. The combination and arrangement of the notches e and l, withthe closer B, its cam c, and the grooved and hooked shank A.

2. The combination and arrangement of-one or more slots, 9 and pins h,with the hook a, and the recess d of the needle A and its closer B, eachslot and its pin'in such an arrangement serving not only to hold theslide in connection with the needle-shank, but to estop the slide in itsforward or forward and backward movements, as set forth;

LEVI W. FIFIELD.

Witnesses:

A. BURPEE, F.'O. WELLS.

